บท 59: Chapter 59 I Hate It When You Get All Philosophical With Me
Spending three weeks on the road to reach Wind Blade Mountain, was a generous estimate in Xuanyuan's heart. In total, Xuanyuan's group took twenty one days just to arrive at a point where they could see Wind Blade Mountain.
While the first week travelling away from False Soul Mountain was mostly downhill and still within the limits of the Ancient Soul Sect's control, every day after it was primarily uphill, a slight slope downhill eventually transforming into a sudden upward incline.
At this point, Xuanyuan had managed to refine his Shark Strength Gu and managed to obtain half the strength of shark, increasing his endurance and physical strength immensely. Li Xiao Er had her Rabbit Strength Gu which also increased her agility, and the strength of her legs, but the others were not so lucky.
Song Pei was an Enslavement Path Gu Master, so his Gu centered around the domination, manipulation and enhancement of certain crocodile species beasts. He could control this Armored Scale Crocodile and a few regular crocodile beasts but refrained from doing so, unable to sustain so many beasts at once.
He primarily rested on top of his Armored Scale Crocodile, but switched out every few hours with Lu Guo and the others, causing most of them to sigh, wiping the sweat from their brows.
Yu Zhong Er and Long Xi were used to this sort of mission by now, but most of the time the pair travelled to resource points containing either Light Path, Dark Path or Shadow Path Gu materials. Whatever they didn't hand into the Sect could be used for themselves, nurturing and refining their own Gu.
While they too were covered in sweat like the others, they didn't seem phased by it and let their junior brothers and sisters rest more often than they did.
Xuanyuan suspected that they had used some sort of Rank 1 beast strength type Gu, and offered to lend them his Rank 2 Shark Strength Gu once he was finished with it, but the pair refused, Long Xi explaining her decision to Xuanyuan.
"Little Yuan, Shark Strength Gu is neither suitable for myself or Zhong Er. Both of us have used a Rank 1 Cat Strength Gu to enhance ourselves. We cannot use other beast strength type Gu so easily considering neither of us are Strength Path Gu Masters. Unless you have a recipe to refine a Cat Strength Gu into a Panther Strength Gu, or a Leopard Strength Gu, neither of us will accept".
"Or the Gu itself, I'm guessing?", he asked.
Long Xi nodded, causing Xuanyuan to frown before asking the others if they needed the same thing.
Yu Xiaolong desired a Rank 2 Rhinoceros Strength Gu, while Lu Guo wanted to obtain a Rank 2 Eagle Strength Gu. Lu Guo said that he would settle for a Rank 1 Swallow Strength Gu, signifying his desire for bird beast strength type Gu.
Jia Yufei wanted a Rank 1 Deer Strength Gu or a Rank 2 Gazelle Strength Gu, while Li Xiao Er wanted to use a method of refining her Rabbit Strength Gu into a Vanishing Rabbit Gu, enhancing her speed even further.
Li Xiao Er also wanted to obtain a Octopus Strength Gu, but didn't say why, causing Xuanyuan to raise an eyebrow.
Tai Yin and Tai Yang both just shook their heads indicating that they had already used a Gu to gain the strength of a beast. They didn't say what type of beast it was, but considering that they weren't any better than Long Xi or Li Xiao Er, it must have been a Rank 1 Gu.
They had to be careful and not use too many different Gu to enhance their strength directly. Too many Strength Path Gu could harm their foundations, affecting their probability of success during Immortal Ascension.
Too many mortal Dao Marks could influence the end outcome in the event of a success. While it was already a one in a million chance of succeeding during Immortal Ascension, Gu Immortals could only receive so many different types of Dao Marks before the chances of self combustion rose significantly, affecting them even after they became Gu Immortals.
Xuanyuan hadn't thought too hard about what type of beast strength Gu he should use, but when his Master gifted him his old Shark Strength Gu, he instantly took it.
Shark Strength Gu was extraordinarily rare in the Ancient Soul Sect, a region filled with Earth Path Dao Marks. Beasts, especially aquatic ones were not naturally found so close to the Western Desert, where the environment was so harsh it affected the ability of life to flourish there.
Sharks were apex predators like Lions, Tigers, Bears and Crocodiles. Their physical strength was immense, and even mortal sharks were capable of killing Gu Masters, especially if they were unused to fighting in the water.
Xuanyuan felt closer to the Shark Strength Gu, knowing he had suddenly been exposed to dozens of different recipes revolving around the Cracking Shark. He was unable to comment on his Master's preference to fight alongside his Rank 4 Hammer Fissure Shark, but his dedication to creating a Rank 5 Cracking Jaws Shark was enough for him to draw parallels between his own desire to create an Extreme Physique.
While his goal was significantly more lofty and the possibility of success was significantly lower, Xuanyuan did not care, examining each Gu recipe until he found two which resonated with him.
"Rank 3 Verdant Reef Shark... And Rank 3 Dark Bite Shark".
The Rank 3 Verdant Reef Shark was a Wood Path support type Gu which could be used to store flora and other Wood Path Gu. Ingredients and Gu could be placed within the jaws of the Verdant Reef Shark, and under its influence would not wither, die or run away, even if they were wild Gu.
It was limited considered it could only store things related to the Wood Path, but it only required to be fed a ten kilograms of sunflower seeds every thirty days. It was relatively easy to feed, even compared to some Rank 2 Gu.
The Rank 3 Dark Bite Shark on the other hand, was a ranged Gu which could only be used in shadows or in darkness. The Gu swam through darkness before rising up beneath a target, crushing them between the jaws of an enormous shark made from darkness.
Darkness was not like shadows which were intangible. Dark Path Gu could interact with both the physical world and shadows, which is why so many Gu Masters thought darkness and shadows were one and the same.
Considering the difficulty of having to differentiate why the Dark Path and the Shadow Path were two separate things, it was no wonder why it had no proper systems of Gu centered around it.
The Soul Path had always existed, even before Fate Gu was damaged. However, only after Red Lotus Demonic Venerable had used Love Gu to damage Fate Gu, were souls capable of resisting the pull from the Door Of Life and Death.
Zombies, ghosts and wraiths now wandered the Five Regions freely, capable of living far beyond their natural lifespans. The Soul Path had always existed, but Spectral Soul revolutionized entire systems of Soul Path Gu, allowing for regular Gu Masters to use his comprehensions and develop their own methods of nurturing and refining Soul Path Gu.
Xuanyuan wanted to do the same for the Shadow Path.
Eventually, after a week of travelling, Song Pei found a wild Grass Blade Gu, lingering their their campsite. It was a Rank 1 Wood Path Gu, but the young man just sighed, mentioning it to the group before offering it up.
"I do not require a Grass Blade Gu. If anyone wishes to purchase it, speak before we reach Dream Garden City, otherwise I will sell it for primeval essence stones".
No-one required the Gu, so Song Pei could only spend a couple days refining the Gu, imbuing his will into it before collecting some wild grasses to feed it.
Xuanyuan was surprised at how easily they had found a Gu in the wild, but then remembered how many Spirit Springs the Ancient Soul Sect had in the vicinity of False Soul Mountain. Spirit Springs relied on heaven qi and earth qi in order to produce primeval essence stones and primeval energy, making it easier for Gu to form.
Considering that the Ancient Soul Sect was built upon False Soul Mountain, which contained entrances to the Earth Abyss, gathering earth qi from earth veins was of no consequence.
Heaven veins were more difficult to obtain, but considering the Ancient Soul Sect's connections to the Heavenly Court and the other Ten Great Sects, Xuanyuan didn't doubt that they had a method to create or move heaven veins or earth veins.
While they getting closer and closer to Wind Blade Mountain everyday, Xuanyuan noticed that morale in the others were certainly high after Song Pei obtained his Grass Blade Gu. It was a relatively common Gu, but it could still be sold for a hundred primeval essence stones.
If this was what they could obtain while just wandering across the Central Continent, how many materials, and more importantly, how many Gu could they find as they travelled closer and closer towards Wind Blade Mountain.
Opening up his notebook, Xuanyuan chronicled some of his deductions relating to the Twin Shadow Gu, sighing as he examined the recipe in front of him.
'There was only about 40% of the Twin Shadow Gu recipe left in the Ancient Soul Sect. Using my Master level attainment and Shadows As Thought Gu I have deduced roughly 60% of the recipe, and that is after only focusing my attention on this single Gu'.
'I have already deduced that it requires over a hundred materials, spanning more than a dozen different Paths. It uses Rank 2 Two Gu in order to be refined, in addition to Rank 1 Silver Light Gu and Rank 1 Golden Light Gu. It also requires Rank 1 Dark Moon Gu and Rank 1 Black Gold Gu'.
'All of these Gu are rare, even in Earth Soul City. Their Rank is the only thing which assures me I can get my hands on it, despite the primeval essence stone cost. Once the recipe is complete, I will need to test it to ensure that a Twin Shadow Gu is capable of being refined. It should be a one-time use Gu, closer to Guts Gu or Wolf Soul Gu'.
It was significantly harder to refine than either of those two Gu, but it only affirmed Xuanyuan's suspicions of the Gu.
Twin Shadow Gu should be an extremely valuable Gu as a Shadow Path Gu Master. The Soul Path had Guts Gu to strengthen a Gu Master's Soul, but Xuanyuan wasn't sure if a similar Gu existed for the Shadow Path.
However, if the Twin Shadow Gu worked the way he thought it did, it would have even more potential than his Nine Eyes Shadow Gu!
He hadn't forgotten about his theories comparing the human body to a killer move. But without a comprehension of the Human Path, Xuanyuan was incapable of furthering this train of thought.
Letting out a sigh, he attracted the attention of Jia Yufei, who was treading up the hill beside him, sweat and dust covering her face and clothes. The beautiful crimson haired girl peered at her tall friend, tilting her head to the side cutely to better look at his face.
"Is something the matter Xuanyuan? You getting tired already?", the girl's tone was envious, knowing that he had a Rank 2 Shark Strength Gu in his possession. She could see that Xuanyuan didn't appear phased, even after spending the most time out of everyone walking, knowing that his Shark Strength Gu allowed him to possess immense endurance.
Some sharks were capable of swimming up to eighty kilometers in a single day, so endurance was one of their strong points.
Xuanyuan smiled, knowing she was trying to get a rise out of him.
"I am fine Yufei. I was just thinking about refining Gu. Elder Luo has given me the recipe to create my own Rank 1 Cracking Shark, and expects me to create one before I return to the Sect".
Jia Yufei raised an eyebrow.
"He expects you to obtain your own ingredients and everything? Isn't that... kind of irresponsible as a Master? I thought he would teach you how to refine it each step of the way, reducing your mistakes and increasing the probability of success?".
Xuanyuan chuckled, shaking his head.
"Master isn't like that. He would teach me everything I need to know before hand, and then allow me to refine it for myself. It will allow me to draw my own insights and conclusions in the event of my failure, and increase confidence in myself when I succeed. I doesn't want me to limit my imagination when I am refining Gu or deducing Gu recipes. So long as I have a dream in my heart, I will walk towards it with every fiber of my being".
Jia Yufei gazed at the earnest expression on Xuanyuan's face, letting out a small hum before nodding.
"... I hate it when you get all philosophical with me", she said.
Xuanyuan chuckled, shaking his head from side to side.
"Sure you do".
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